Laissez moi esperer, que j'aurai encore quelques lignes de vous, avant de passer l'atlantique; et que vous n'oublierez pas des amis, qui vous sont bien tendrement attaches.In 1825 the following interesting letter came from him, written in English, so nearly perfect that it is given here exactly from the autograph.
Coppet, August 10, 1825.
my dear Ticknor,—It is an object of most sincere regret to me, that it was not in my power to be of any use to your friends in Paris, and to express to them the gratitude and friendship which I feel for you. Your kind letter reached me here a few days ago, and I had left Paris about the middle of June.
Nothing can be more striking than your observations on Lafayette's journey, and your picture of the five living Presidents.
I read it with tears in my eyes, for after religion, there is nothing that penetrates so deep into the heart of man as the love of freedom.
Yours is, indeed, a noble and blessed country, and the whole of America—when she gets rid of the Brazilian Emperor, which is only an unnecessary piece of ridicule—will present an unexampled scene of grandeur, wealth, and reason.
But for God's sake keep your eyes open upon your slave States.
I am sadly struck with the madness of the people of Georgia; and prudence unites with common sense, justice, and religion to recommend that some early steps should be made towards the abolition of slavery.
I live in the daily expectation to hear that the fate of St. Domingo has extended to the whole of the West Indies.
And what will become of your Southern States, and their slaves, when there is an African empire established in the West, which will be but a just compensation for all the cruelties which the negroes have suffered from the Europeans, for years and ages.
Let your statesmen act and speak; your philosophers advise; your ministers preach upon this subject.
Delenda est Carthago.
What should I tell you of our own politics?
They are so shabby as to make one ashamed to speak of them; yet disgusting as the conduct of our rulers is, in every respect, I think that the country is advancing, but there is a complete chasm between the government and the people.
There are not two ideas or two sentiments in common.
On one side bigotry, hypocrisy, and corruption, on the other indifference as to what passes in the Tuileries, but constant activity to improve, not only one's fortune, but one's mind.
You may judge of it by the state of our literature.
Many valuable books have made 